1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a progressive distributor for lubricants, in particular for use in central lubricating equipment, which includes a series of metering elements and a base plate made up of individual feed components or segments provided with apertures and conduits for lubricant supply to the metering elements.
2. Description of Related Art
In progressive distributors of the type used in central or one shot lubricating equipment, the lubricant which is to be moved to the particular lubrication point controls its discharge or conveyance by means of pistons present in the metering elements of the progressive distributor, the pistons being displaced by the lubricant.
One such progressive distributor is known from a brochure issued by DROPSA SPA, Milan entitled "2nd-generation modular progressive distributor SMO-SMX". A number of the metering elements (also called modules) are provided. Each metering element is detachably screwed on a so-called base plate which is constituted in turn by individual components of which the purpose is to guide the lubricant to the metering elements, i.e., the modules, and there to move returned or released lubricant to the particular discharges. While the metering elements may be detached per se from the base plate and be exchanged with corresponding new ones, and the associated conduits need not be detached in the process, it is nevertheless a drawback that in some cases of progressive-distributor malfunction it is a fairly complex matter to ascertain which of the detector elements is defective, and hence which one causes the particular malfunction or failure, and most of all, to do so on site. To find out, all metering elements must be unscrewed individually and be sent to the shop, and a corresponding number of new metering elements must be screwed onto the base plate at the site. This procedure is complex and requires considerably assembly work on site, and such work is known from experience to be time-consuming and hence correspondingly expensive. Such expenditures are avoided only when it is known on site which metering element must be exchanged, for instance for a controlled change in lubricant conveyance using another metering element, and only then is it possible to unscrew deliberately the particular metering element and replace it with the new one.
Another progressive distributor is known from the brochure ZENTRALSCHMIERANLAGEN #0094.07.85 from Eugen Woerner GmbH & Co, Wertheim, D-6980, wherein a distributor in one block is detachably screwed on a base plate and in principle operates as the above metering elements. However, this block distributor forms a single unit which can only be screwed as a whole onto, or be detached from, the base plate. In the event of one defect, the entire block distributor must be unscrewed from the base plate. If a malfunction occurs that cannot be localized on site, the entire block distributor can be brought into the shop to search for the malfunction and meantime another block distributor may be used on site. In those cases however in which it might be otherwise desired to exchange only part of the block distributor, for instance on account of the above mentioned change in lubricant supply, a new block distributor must nevertheless be installed which provides the desired change at the particular location. Because of the use of another block distributor, substantial equipment costs are incurred.